Calling Papa-Charlie

On a day trip to the Scottish Museum of Flight in East Lothian in 2013 the author stumbled across a small yellow exhibit in hangar number two. A plaque explained that this plane had been built by a local man in his house in Airdrie, using a number of parts sourced from the scrapheap. Intrigued by this, Andy Frazier managed to make contact with the family to research the story behind the plane. Calling Papa-Charlie tells the remarkable story of one man’s dream to build a plane and fly it, inspired by the planes he watched as a boy in World War Two. Persevering long after most would have given up, living in a council house and with a family to support, John Sharp actually built a perfect plane with his own hands. This enjoyable and satisfying book will bring pleasure to anyone with an interest in the triumph of the human spirit.